The card took place at The Pearl Theater at the Palms Casino Resort and aired on Showtime.

Sayers found his opening in an early clinch, pressing Britt against the cage and creating a little space on the outside. A vicious barrage of hooks followed, and Britt slumped to the floor in shockingly quick fashion.

“The glory is not mine, the glory is God’s,” Sayers said. “This camp was excellent. Everyone stayed on me and got me prepared for this fight.

“I expected him to over-commit on his punches, so I waited for that to happen and threw all my power on him. I was just glad I was able to connect and give the fans a great knockout.”

Sayers (5-2 MMA, 1-1 SF), who has yet to fight out of the first round in his career, earns his first-ever career knockout. Britt (11-6 MMA, 1-3 SF), who was making his middleweight debut, has now lost three-straight contests.

Meanwhile, Rousey wasted little time closing the distance and working the fight to the floor. From there, it was an immediate transition to mount and into her signature finish: the armbar. Budd’s limb was trapped and immediately tweaked in grotesque fashion, but she refused to offer a tap. As she rolled and tried to buck, Rousey kept the hold tight, and Budd finally offered a meek tap before rising to reveal an obviously injured elbow.

“I’m a 10 on a scale of nine excited,” Rousey said after the win. “We are doing a remake of the Jon Jones dougie video tomorrow, so I wanted to go in there and finish it quickly and not mess my face up.

“I felt her arm pop out, but we were instructed not to say anything to the referee, so I stretched it out harder and luckily she flipped over and everyone was able to see it so they stopped the fight.”

Rousey (4-0 MMA, 2-0 SF) said she plans to drop to 135 pounds for her next fight and issued challenges to former champ Sarah Kaufman and current titleholder Miesha Tate. Budd (2-2 MMA, 2-2 SF) has alternated wins and losses since her October 2010 debut.

Amagov, Smith and Brunson impress

Russian prospect Adlan Amagov added another finish to his highlight reel with a devastating striking finish of Anthony Smith.

Amagov scored an early takedown, only to see Smith tie up on the bottom and earn a restart. Once back on the feet, the two traded shots, but it was a devastating Amagov right that put Smith on the floor. Four punches followed, and Amagov was declared the victor at the 2:32 mark of the first round. The finish was announced as a TKO on the evening’s broadcast, but it was officially recorded as a knockout.

“We had an early exchange of punches, and I was lucky enough to land the right shot,” Amagov said through his translator after the fight. “I’m very excited to continue my career with Strikeforce. I’m ready to fight anyone they put in front of me.”

It was opponent T.J. Cook who took the fight to the floor, but Smith rapidly reversed the position and swept to mount. He nearly earned the finish with a slick armbar but instead transitioned to a guillotine choke and earned the tap with just 32 seconds left in the first frame.

“I’m happy with the result,” Smith said after the win. “My ground game is my best asset. I love submitting people. Give me a neck, I’ll choke you out. Give me a limb, I’ll rip it off.”

The fight didn’t start well for James, who was both kicked in the cup and poked in the eye in the opening five minutes. He didn’t fare much better facing legal attacks, either, being taken to the floor repeatedly and working hard to avoid several earnest submission attempts.

In the end the unanimous-decision result was clear, and Brunson was awarded the fight, 30-27 on all three cards.

“I had a great camp with Greg Jackson,” Brunson said. “He didn’t give me much free time, so I was prepared.

“I always work for the finish so I’m a little disappointed I wasn’t able to end the fight. But I’m excited to get back to training, get better and continue to win in Strikeforce.”

Brunson (8-0 MMA, 2-0 SF) wins by decision for just the second time in his career. James (13-8-1 MMA, 1-1 SF) sees a modest two-fight win streak snapped.

Ricehouse remains unbeaten; Green scores late tap-out

In the night’s final preliminary bout, undefeated prospect Matt Ricehouse kept his perfect record intact with a one-sided decision win over submission wizard Bill Cooper.

“The Grill” was simply unable to control the grappling action, and Ricehouse proved a more effective striker throughout the 15-minute affair. An illegal kick to the head of a downed opponent saw Cooper lose a point in the third round, and Ricehouse was awarded a unanimous decision with scores of 29-27, 30-26 and 30-26.

“I’m glad I got another opportunity to fight for Strikeforce,” Ricehouse said of the win. “He’s a very tough guy. He hit me quite a few times and he hit me very hard. He forced me into making mistakes that I shouldn’t have made. I’m happy with the win but disappointed with my performance.”

Ricehouse (6-0 MMA, 3-0 SF) has now rattled off six-straight wins to open his career. Cooper (2-1 MMA, 1-1 SF) loses for the first time as a pro.

In a lightweight matchup, American Top Team’s J.P. Reese controlled Bobby Green in the opening frame, but “King” turned things around in the later stages of the fight and ultimately finished his opponent with a rear-naked choke in the third round. A three-time Strikeforce vet, Green hopes the positive result will finally get him featured on TV.

“The guy is a fantastic wrestler, a two-time NCAA (All-American), but I’m in there to die,” Green said after the win. “I felt him slowing down a few minutes before the finish, and I started taking bigger chances to try to close it for the fans. Now I’m ready for Strikeforce to put me on a main card.”

In a back-and-forth welterweight affair, former King of the Cage champ Quinn Mulhern earned his second Strikeforce win with a unanimous-decision nod over David Hulett.

Mulhern looked to be in control in the opening round before Hulett rallied in the second. But with the result on the line in the final frame, Mulhern was the fresher fighter, landing better blows and pushing the action en route to earning three 29-28 scorecards.

“I thought I did pretty well out there,” Mulhern said. “I gassed toward the end of the second round, and I was very disappointed in that because I’m always trying to better my cardio.

“David was extremely tough. He countered well and was able to turn the pace, but luckily I was able to turn it back in my favor by the third round.”

Mulhern (17-2 MMA, 2-1 SF) is now 9-1 in his past 10 fights. Hulett (18-10 MMA, 0-1 SF) falls to 2-2 in his past four fights.

In the night’s first contest, Andreas Spang made quick work of late replacement Willie Parks. Spang did find himself on the the floor in the early going, but he worked back to the feet and landed several clean shots to force a stoppage at the 3:10 mark of the opening round.

“I’m happy that I was the man that came out with the win,” Spang said after the fight. “Once I caught him and realized he was hurt, I smelled blood and I swarmed him.”

Spang (7-1 MMA, 0-0 SF) has now earned five of his seven career wins via first-round stoppage. Parks (4-2 MMA, 0-1 SF) has now dropped two straight contests after opening his career 4-0.

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is probably the greatest female fighter on the planet, which is a tremendous feat. So why are we seemingly so obsessed with arguing about whether she could beat up men?